Share this page!

Maybe Scrolly?
Aristocratic Fury Profile picture
Twitter logo
Oct 3, 2021 • 14 tweets • 12 min read
1/14 This is an Italian Wars mega thread with threads covering all the crucial battles from the battle of Fornovo in 1495 to the end of the War of the League of Cognac in 1530. I made these threads in July and many of new followers probably haven't seen them yet! Image
2/14 I think this mega thread is one of the easiest to read introductions to the Italian wars and its crucial battles. It's a long and complex conflict, but I think I covered the key on military and political events quite well for some basic knowledge about what happened. ImageImage
3/14 Battle of Fornovo 1495

Mighty French army enters Italy to claim Naples. A huge coalition of Italian cities forms against them. France fights an epic battle in Fornovo against twice larger Italian army led by Venice and migthy Margraviate of Mantua!

ImageImageImage
4/10 Battle of Cerignola 1503

France and Spain fight over the Kingdom of Naples, the French had defeated Spanish easily at Seminara in 1495, but this time the Spanish introduce the pike and shot warfare. A battle that signaled a new era of warfare!

ImageImage
5/14 Battle of Garigliano 1503

The French challenge the Spanish again in their final attempt to control the Kingdom of Naples and the south of Italy!

ImageImage
6/14 Battle of Agnadello 1509

War of the League of Cambrai pits a large coalition of European powers against the Republic of Venice. The French face the Venetians at Agnadello for control of the Venetian lands in Terrafirma (Venetian mainland).

ImageImage
7/14 Battle of Ravenna 1512

The alliances shift and now France is isolated and has to face combined army of Spain and Papal States. Led by the brave young knight Gaston of Foix, the French are confident as they face their mighty enemies at Ravenna.

ImageImageImage
8/14 Battle of Novara 1513

The French continue their aggression on Italy facing the Swiss Confederation for control over the Duchy of Milan at Novara. Once serving them as mercenaries, the famed Swiss pikemen now fight against the French!

ImageImage
9/14 Battle of La Motta 1513

In a chaotic turn of events, the Republic of Venice is now allied to French and faces the combined Imperial-Spanish army at La Motta. Legendary commander Georg von Frundsberg leads the Imperial Landsknecht infantry!

ImageImageImage
10/14 Battle of Marignano 1515

The French duel with Swiss over control of Duchy of Milan again, this time led by ambitious young king Francis I. They clash in a brutal two-day long battle at Marignano!

ImageImage
11/14 Battle of Bicocca 1522

French King Francis I wages another war of aggression as Spain and Holy Roman Empire are united under same ruler Emperor Charles V since 1519. The Imperial-Spanish army awaits him at Bicocca with its elite infantry.

ImageImageImage
12/14 Battle of Sesia 1524

Tensions continue as both the French and the Imperials raise more men and look for an encounter in northern Italy. The Imperial army chases down the French and faces them at the Sesia River.

ImageImage
13/14 Battle of Pavia 1525

The most famous battle of the Italian wars, the decisive encounter between the French and the Imperials.

ImageImageImage
14/14 Battle of Landriano 1530

Following the battle of Pavia, the Pope and the Italian city states now rally behind the French and form the League of Cognac against the Empire of Charles V.

ImageImageImageImage

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Aristocratic Fury

Aristocratic Fury Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @LandsknechtPike

Aristocratic Fury Profile picture
Jan 25
During his long military career that spanned from 1476 to 1529, Nicholas of Salm fought against a "who's who" of legendary military units at the time. His experience was unmatched when he defended Vienna as a 70 year old veteran.

Let's take a look at his resume! (thread) Image
At 17 years of age he fought his first battle against the Burgundians at Morat in 1477 for Lower League alliance, facing the most powerful ruler in Europe at the time, Charles the Bold, the Duke of the West, and his feared knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece! ImageImageImage
In 1483 he entered the service of Austrian Habsburgs and under their banner fought against the legendary Black Army of Hungary, the strongest army in Europe at the time. Ferocious mercenaries who fought for Matthias Corvinus of Hungary with a stellar record and brutal reputation. ImageImage
Read 11 tweets
Aristocratic Fury Profile picture
Jan 22
The war between Teutonic Order and the Lithuanian pagans was one of the longest conflicts ever! There was some kind of fighting almost every year from 1283 to 1406, but very few big battles. It was basically a war of attrition, but with both sides getting stronger in the process. Image
The fighting revolved around raids into enemy territory where both sides pillaged enemy territory back and forth. However these raids had to be well organized and the logistics were very difficult. Campaigning was only possible for a limited time of the year! ImageImage
This is primarily due to two things: geography and climate. These lands were covered by dense forests, bogs, lakes and rivers. There was a belt of uncleared land between the two enemies as a no man's land. This presented logistical challenges that were very difficult to overcome. ImageImageImage
Read 7 tweets
Aristocratic Fury Profile picture
Jan 19
Did all the Teutonic Knights follow their vows of chastity as warrior monks like this? Hard to generalize but many of them likely did and the vow of chastity was taken seriously as the historian Eric Christiansen notes in the book The Northern Crusades. However... (thread)
Christiansen also notes how "the knight-brother was exposed to strong temptations, because war and power continually put women at his mercy. They were booty, and the expectation of raping them was what kept his native auxiliaries up to the mark."
These native auxiliaries were the Old Prussian Baltic pagans, former enemies of the Order now serving as their mercenaries. Most of the Baltic crusades revolved around brutal raids into enemy territory and these natives acted as guides and irregulars for the Teutonic Knights.
Read 11 tweets
Aristocratic Fury Profile picture
Jan 18
Did you know? There is an old legend documented by chroniclers that one of the Teutonic Knights decided to test his commitment to chastity by ordering the prettiest virgin girl they could find to sleep next to him naked for entire year and he didn't touch her.
This Teutonic Knight was Bertold Brühaven hailing from Duchy of Austria. He served the Order in the Baltic crusades and was Komtur (commander) of Königsberg from 1289 to 1302. The chronicles praise him as a great warrior who conducted many successful raids deep in pagan lands!
For example Nikolaus von Jeroschin writes that in 1291 "that ever reliable warrior for God" Brother Bertold Brühaven attacked ferociously the area called Junigeda, burning and looting it and also killing or taking prisoner approximately 700 local Baltic heathen men and women!
Read 7 tweets
Aristocratic Fury Profile picture
Jan 18
Italian noblewoman Simonetta Vespucci (1453 - 1476) was so famous for her beauty that she earned the nickname La Sans Pareille, "The Unparalleled One"!
Born in Genoa as Simonetta Cattaneo, she moved to Florence after marrying important nobleman Marco Vespucci.

She was allegedly the model for many paintings by Sandro Botticelli, Piero di Cosimo, and other Florentine painters!
When she died at only 22 years of age she was carried through the city of Florence in an open coffin "so that all might see her beauty, which was even greater in death than it had been in life." Many poets wrote poems grieving over the young beauty's tragic demise!
Read 4 tweets
Aristocratic Fury Profile picture
Jan 16
Yes and medieval universities were important because they set foundations for independent self-regulating institutions of higher learning, and for giving a lot of rights to students. That does not mean they were necessarily superior to non-Western institutions at the time.
No one denies that the likes of Byzantines and Arabs had superior institutions for a long time in the "middle ages", but the Western universities set up foundations for modern universities in terms of institutional concept, and over time became more and more important.
This is why the (Western) middle ages should be understood as a period of creativity, innovation and learning. They started from a very low position as a civilization but expressed a great desire to learn and implement a lot of new ideas that benefited over time.
Read 4 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @LandsknechtPike has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @LandsknechtPike!

Read all threads by @LandsknechtPike

:(